You Want A War? You've Got One! 4.

Belinswae. Winter...

Riley Hait the mercenary ranger rolls his eyes as next to him Dorc da Orc loudly sighs for the umpteenth time this morning.
The ranger Hait doesn't bother asking the large ork what's wrong. After all it's basically all Dorkindle has talked about since the start of winter.
Ah fuck, here we go, Riley Hait the mercenary ranger dryly thinks to himself as Dorc da Orc says in a loud mutter "Why can't we be in the fucken war?".
The mercenary ranger, who in actuality is a hordes outrider from the southern tundra who happens to be in the body of Riley Hait, briefly thinks about not answering the ork warleader. But he decides to as the large ork might shut up about it if he does.
"You know perfectly well why we're not there" says the human ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen in the Southlands. "Oh, why's that?" asks the ork weaponsmith in a tone of fake innocence.
"Dorc" dryly says Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman, the son of the former matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks loudly sighs again, then he scowls, and follows that up by growling "Fucken dwarven cunts".
The ranger Hait rolls his eyes once more, and sourly smiles, and shakes his head as next to him Dorkindle grunts in disgust.
You can't exactly be in a war where you're killing your own side, Riley Hait dryly thinks to himself with a sideways look at the warleader of the ork race.
"Besides, we're kind of in the war" says the mercenary ranger, who briefly pauses then adds "Kind of". This time it's Dorkindle's turn to sourly smile and shake his head, then mutter "In a war ya fucken kills peoples, we not doing much of fucken that".
The two of them are near the Nomad's Plains, southeast of the coastal city of Falnic in the region of Belinswae. They're about forty miles southeast of the largest city in the region.
There's a cool winter's breeze blowing off the vast, dry plains to the east at the moment. On what's a relatively cold day for the area. Though relative is the optimal word here, for in comparison it's absolutely balmy here compared to the cold winter's day they're experiencing to the north of Belinswae, in the Stone Hills where war has broken out.
The two from south of the equator are beneath a dry looking tree, about forty yards from a road, which they've been watching on and off for the last handful of days. Not seeing anything of what they've been looking for.
The ranger Hait gets up and stretches, then after looking around, he says "I'll go into town and see if anyone has seen anything this morning". There's a small town about a mile and half north of where they are. It's one of the last places where townsmen live. As the villages and small towns further to the southeast along the road, are populated by half breeds, or half bloods. Those who are neither townsmen nor nomads, but those in between.
After grunting, and glad that some cloud cover is passing by overhead, Dorc da Orc says "What me gonna fucken do while you gone?". The mercenary ranger who knows it's best that the large ork is occupied. Sleeping would be better, but occupied will do.
Points to the south, and the otherside of the road, where in the distance amongst some rocky ground, he's spotted something. "You can go over there and bother that small flock that's wandered away from some poor farmer's fields".
Dorkindle who has been eyeing the flock in the distance for most of the early morning, grunts in approval at the idea of that.
While Riley Hait wryly smiles as he knows that the large ork, will 'bother' the sheep alright. He wonders how many of them will still be alive when he gets back, he suspects very few of them, or more likely none.
"Don't go too far" says Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson as he sets off, pretty comfortable in the fact the ork weaponsmith won't wander off too far, as the flock of sheep in the distance will keep him occupied for some time.
As the mercenary ranger from the principality of Maladimbáh heads north along the road, making his way to the nearby town. The big, burly ork from the southern polar region of the world, crosses the hard packed dirt road. Wondering how best he can sneak up on the small flock of sheep in the distance.
Later, after mid morning, Riley Hait is jogging back south along the road from the small town, when he gets to near the tree he and Dorc da Orc were sitting under earlier. He looks to the west and south. And spots the large ork in the distance, sitting down amongst the rocky ground where the flock of sheep was.
The ranger Hait jogs towards the ork weaponsmith, and as he approaches him, he sees that Dorkindle has a gutted out sheep he's wearing on his head and over his shoulders. The ork warleader's big head is in the body cavity of the dead sheep.
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman just shakes his head as he sees that the dead sheep, that the large ork is wearing as a grotesque headpiece of some kind, has a startled look upon it's face.
"Like Dorc's pretty new hat?" asks Dorkindle, who reaches up and pats the dead sheep upon his head and over his shoulders, as he adds "It's nice and fluffy".
"Fetching" dryly says the ranger Hait, who shakes his head and silently adds, you fucking psycho!
The mercenary ranger spots one other dead sheep nearby on the ground, that's half eaten, there's no sign of the rest of the flock.
The ranger Hait asks the ork warleader "Where's the rest of them?". "Pissed off, when they saw me kill that one over there that me got all rapey on" says Dorkindle in a sour tone of voice.
"Smart sheep" murmurs Riley Hait in the hordes dialect of the southern tundra, who has always had the opinion that sheep are stupid animals. Until these one's realised that had to get out of here in a hurry when they saw one of their flock getting fucked to death by the large ork.
"This was the only other cunt me catch" says Dorc da Orc, who pats the dead sheep he's wearing on his head, and grins and adds "So me turns it into a fucken hat".
"Fascinating" dryly says Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson with a shake of his head, he then tells the large ork "Come on" followed by "We might have some company later".
The ork weaponsmith grunts in interest, and the mercenary ranger form the principality of Envadarlen in the Southlands explains to him "There's a squad north of town checking out all the farms that way".
The ork warleader grunts "Huh?" and the ranger Hait tells him "Seeing if there's anyone they've missed in pressing" Dorkindle frowns as he tries to remember what that means, then he grunts in understanding when he remembers.
"A farmer in that market square was coming in to town earlier this morning and saw them" says Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman who looks towards the road as he continues with "I suspect they've been told to keep the road clear of bandits too" he pauses before he adds "Not that there's many of them about nowadays".
Dorc da Orc grunts as he gets up off the ground, then with the dead sheep still upon his head, the large ork from the bottom of the world follows the mercenary ranger back towards the road.
As they do, the ranger Hait says "If they stop in town for the midday meal, they'll check the few farms this way". There's very few farms belonging to those known as townsmen south of the nearby town. As what little farmland there is further to the south and east, is farmed by half breeds. As it's too close for comfort to the Nomad's Plains for townsmen to work the land.
The two from south of the equator make their way further down the road from where they were watching it from earlier beneath a dry looking tree.
The two of them go on either side of the road, with Riley Hait sitting down behind a pile of rocks, while Dorc da Orc plops himself down in a ditch on the otherside of the road as they wait.
The mercenary ranger who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra who just happens to inhabit the body of the ranger Hait. Pops his head out form the side of pile of rocks he's hunkered down behind.
And he sees a sheep's head and a large green ork's head in the cavity of the sheep's carcass, directly opposite him, sticking up out of the ditch on the otherside of the dirt packed road, in the dry countryside even now in winter.
The ranger Hait wryly smiles, and moves further away to his right. As he knows it's not particularly safe to be directly opposite Dorc da Orc with what they're planning to do.
As the large ork tends to throw things, and Riley Hait doesn't really want a thirty pound hammer being thrown in his direction, which is more than a little disconcerting at the best of times.
The mercenary ranger from south of the equator moves a bit further back from the road, and down from where Dorc da Orc is on the otherside of it. He gets behind a boulder, and no longer has a clear view to the north of the road in the direction of the town.
As he takes his bow and he strings it, Riley Hait isn't concerned he can't see north along the road now, for that's what Dorkindle is for, as the large ork is the lookout. Not that the ork warleader will just be using his sight to observe what's coming down the road from the small town.
The two of them wait, with Dorc da Orc slowly drinking two bottles of wine he's hoarded, while Riley Hait reads from a small book he's been carrying around with him since the end of autumn, when he purchased it in the city of Falnic, when he and Dorkindle were still with the rest of the group.
It's just after midday, when the mercenary ranger who is reading the book about the history of Belinswae and the Nomad's Plains, written from a neutral point of view by an elven scholar, in elven too. Hears Dorc da Orc say "Horsey".
The ranger Hait looks around the boulder, to where the large ork is on the otherside of the road, and he calls out to him "How many?". "Six" replies the ork warleader who holds up ten fingers. The mercenary ranger rolls his eyes, and suspects that there's probably ten or more riders approaching.
Riley Hait steps out from behind the boulder and looks north, he can't see any riders at the moment, but as he moves back down behind the boulder, he knows that the ork weaponsmith has heard and smelled the riders on the road approaching from the north.
Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson waits a little while, then he pops his head around the side of the boulder again and looks to where Dorc da Orc is on the otherside of the road, about twenty yards up from him.
He sees the dead sheep, and the large green ork head shoved up in the body cavity of the sheep carcass duck down out of sight in the ditch on the otherside of the road.
The mercenary ranger pulls his head back behind the boulder, and takes an arrow from his quiver, puts to the plate on the belly of his horse bow, and waits. It's not long before Riley Hait hears riders to the north on the road.
He doesn't have to look to know who it is, they're justifiers guards, most likely from the city of Falnic, they're the only one's nowadays who ride in numbers on the roads of Belinswae.
The ranger Hait knows most of them will be poorly armed and armoured, because many of them on patrol southeast of Falnic were road bandits back in autumn, who are now earning a better living in the service of one of the justifier's who rule the region of Belinswae.
They're out patrolling the roads, keeping them clear of road bandits, not that there's many of them even left now that there's war in the north in the Stone Hills. That's what they appear to be doing, but their main purpose while on patrol is to press gang anyone they see fit to serve in the armies of the justifier's of Belinswae, in the their war against the dwarven clans of the Stone Hills.
Riley Hait continues to listen, and hears the horses and their riders getting closer, the mercenary ranger waits for the signal, he doesn't have to wait long, as hears a loud roar from the otherside of the road, and a shouted "Get some!" from Dorc da Orc.
The ranger Hait wryly smiles as he steps out from behind the boulder drawing back his bow, he quickly takes aim at a target, and lets the arrow in the horse bow fly. The shaft takes the lead rider in the squad of mounted justifier's guards in the chest, knocking the man out of the saddle . . . . . .